Texas CPAs Don't Support Global Credential

Oct 16th 2001

0

The proposed global business credential has little support among Texas certified public accountants according to the results of a new survey conducted by the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants (TSCPA).

Proposed by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), the national organization representing CPAs, this designation would recognize business professionals for their mastery of global business knowledge.

In a statistically valid survey of TSCPA members, more than 46 percent said they don't support the proposed global business credential. Thirty percent of those surveyed supported the credential with the remaining 24 percent undecided.

When asked if they would obtain the credential if it were developed, only 14 percent of the respondents said they would likely do so.

According to TSCPA Executive Director John Sharbaugh, a prime concern for TSCPA members is that non-CPAs will be able to obtain the credential as proposed, thereby potentially diluting the position of CPAs who also choose to attain it.

"A sticking point for many survey respondents is the concept of the proposed credential being available to non-CPAs," Mr. Sharbaugh said. "When asked if they support or oppose this concept, almost 60 percent of the survey respondents said they were opposed to the availability to non-CPAs. If the credential was restricted to CPAs only, nearly 46 percent said they would strongly or somewhat increase their level of support for the proposal."

Trending

At their October 22-23 meeting, members of the AICPA Council will decide whether to sustain or rescind a membership vote on the credential scheduled for later in the year.

Gary D. McIntosh, CPA and TSCPA chairman, noted that the survey results were distributed to the Texas members of the AICPA Council.

"We conducted this survey because we felt it was important for our AICPA Council members to know how CPAs in Texas feel about the proposal for a global business credential before their discussion on whether or not to go forward with an AICPA membership vote," Mr. McIntosh said. "Based on our results, we believe it is not likely that a super-majority of members in Texas will vote to approve the proposal. However, there are other states and jurisdictions in this country and several of them have shown support for this initiative.

If an AICPA membership vote is conducted, two-thirds of AICPA members voting must approve the proposal in order for it to move forward to development. Nearly 51 percent of TSCPA members surveyed said they would vote against the proposal if a membership vote were taken, while about 31 percent said they would vote for it. Eighteen percent were not sure how they would vote.